Another week in, and we have yet to find a unanimous choice for No.
1. Voters split their votes for the top team again, this time between
the Washington Nationals, the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees, with the Baltimore Orioles bounced from top-spot consideration this week and the Chicago Cubs still in the mix as their lineup starts to heat up.
Despite a tight pack up top, there was still some major movement up and down. The Cincinnati Reds tumbled 11 spots after seeing another tough week erase their initial strong start, while the surprising Chicago White Sox
made their own move up 11 spots, as well as back into the thick of the
early race in the AL Central. Some other traditional contenders also
climbed back toward the top, with the Texas Rangers up seven rungs, while the St. Louis Cardinals gained five spots.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, was the tumble of the Kansas City Royals,
as the 2015 world champs burrowed all the way to the basement. Can a
long-expected sell-off of their future free agents be far behind?
This week's voters are Bradford Doolittle, Eric Karabell, Tim Kurkjian, David Schoenfield and Mark Simon. Week 3 rankings | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason
Record: 17-8 Week 3 ranking: No. 2
With Adam Eaton out, center field is there for the taking for Michael Taylor
if he can find a way to get past his strikeout issues. But Taylor has
never shown the ability to do so through nearly 250 major league games.
If prospect Rafael Bautista
were to make a good, quick first impression, Taylor could get the hook.
The big loss for the Nationals is in knowing what they were getting --
Eaton's year-end numbers were almost identical in 2015 and 2016. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 16-9 Week 3 ranking: No. 1
Guess which team has its ace back in action? Dallas Keuchel
continues to dominate. He's 5-0 with a 1.21 ERA in six starts, and the
one game he didn't win, he allowed one run and two hits in seven
innings. He's pitched at least seven innings in each start and has
allowed a .164 batting average. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record: 13-11 Week 3 ranking: No. 4
The Cubs are managing to stay afloat despite a league-worst 9.39 ERA in the first inning this season. Kris Bryant (.907 OPS) and Anthony Rizzo
(.877 OPS) already appear to be rounding into midseason form, while the
bullpen has picked up its end of the bargain (NL-best 2.87 ERA). The
champs hope to improve on a slow 4-5 start at Wrigley Field this season
as they start a seven-game homestand on Monday against the Phillies.--
Paul Hembekides, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 15-8 Week 3 ranking:No. 5 Aaron Judge's Rookie of the Year case gets stronger every day. His 10 home runs in April tied the rookie record for the month, matching Jose Abreu in 2014 and Trevor Story
in 2016. It's a long season, but Judge has put himself and his team in a
good position. The Yankees are 9-0 when Judge homers and 6-8 when he
does not. -- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 14-10 Week 3 ranking: No. 6
The Indians' rotation has
gotten it together -- they're top-five in ERA in the past two weeks
after ranking dead last in the first two. In the pen, closer Cody Allen
has whiffed half of the 40 batters he's faced. The top of the AL
Central is surprisingly tight with the White Sox, Twins and Tigers
hanging around, but if the Indians' staff continues to pitch like this,
they'll take control of the race. -- Michael Bonzagni, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 15-8 Week 3 ranking: No. 3
After not allowing
double-digit runs in any of their first 20 games of the season, the O's
allowed double-digit totals both Friday and Saturday against the
Yankees. A big reason for the high run total Saturday was Ubaldo Jimenez, who allowed 7 runs (6 earned). His 7.43 ERA ranks 105th of 107 qualified pitchers. Right behind him? Teammate Kevin Gausman and his 7.50 ERA. -- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 16-11 Week 3 ranking:No. 8 Shelby Miller is out for the season and will undergo Tommy John surgery, but Torey Lovullo said Archie Bradley will remain in the bullpen, where he has a 1.13 ERA and 19 K's in 16 innings. Zack Godley
made a spot start last week but was optioned back to the minors and
can't be recalled for 10 days, so somebody else will start Thursday. Top
prospect Anthony Banda has 16 walks in 23 ⅔ IP at Triple-A Reno, so
maybe it's Braden Shipley who will get the chance. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record: 14-12 Week 3 ranking: No. 11
The weekend sweep of the Phillies included Saturday's dramatic ninth-inning comeback that featured consecutive home runs from Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger and pinch-hitter Justin Turner
to tie the game. Turner followed that up with a three-hit game on
Sunday to finish April hitting .403. Only three other Dodgers hit .400
in April since the Dodgers moved to L.A.: Ron Cey (.425 in 1977), Paul Lo Duca (.416 in 2004), Matt Kemp (.417 in 2012). -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record:13-11 Week 3 ranking: No. 9
So the Red Sox stood still in the Power Rankings? Don't blame Chris Sale
for Boston's so-so April. He has just one win in five starts but has
been absolutely dominating with 52 K's in 37 ⅔ innings, a .177 average
allowed and one home run. He's on pace for over 300 strikeouts -- the
last AL pitcher with 300 K's was Pedro Martinez in 1999. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record: 16-10 Week 3 ranking: No. 7 Ian Desmond
came off the DL for his Rockies debut on Sunday and went 1-for-5 with
two strikeouts. He started in left field instead of first base, as Bud
Black kept Mark Reynolds'
hot bat in the lineup. While the Rockies finished with a strong April
record, keep in mind that they also had winning Aprils in 2015 (11-10),
2014 (16-13), 2013 (16-11) and 2011 (17-8). -- David Schoenfield,
ESPN.com
Record: 12-12 Week 3 ranking: No. 16
The Cardinals have played well lately, getting back above .500 for the first time since they were 1-0. Dexter Fowler and Randal Grichuk have led the way at the plate, with both breaking out of early-season slumps. Several starters have been better, most notably Lance Lynn, but the real bright spot has been how the back end of the bullpen is rounding into shape. Trevor Rosenthal, Brett Cecil and Seung-Hwan Oh look like a fearsome three-headed monster to close out games. -- John Fisher, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-14 Week 3 ranking: No. 19
The week in Rangers-land: Carlos Gomez hits for the cycle, Jurickson Profar (.135) gets sent down, Yu Darvish
logs a 10-strikeout game and they lose 2 of 3 to both the Twins and
Angels at home. The offense is hitting just .220 with a .298 OBP but has
been propped up by a .263/.356/.491 line with RISP. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record: 12-14 Week 3 ranking: No. 14
That the Rays are in the AL's top half in run scoring despite Evan Longoria and Brad Miller not performing anywhere close to their norms is impressive. Who has stepped up? Corey Dickerson
is hitting like he's back in Coors Field again. If he can maintain
anything close to this level of offensive production, things will look
really good once Miller and Longoria come around. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 13-13 Week 3 ranking: No. 18
The Brewers offense is scoring in a variety of ways, ranking first in the majors in home runs and second in steals. Eric Thames
has yet to cool off after his sensational start. But the bullpen really
struggled over the weekend, adding to the Brewers' pitching trouble
with a rotation that has struggled (outside of Chase Anderson). They have a tough schedule coming up, with series against the Cardinals, Red Sox, Mets and Cubs before Memorial Day. -- John Fisher, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 13-10 Week 3 ranking: No. 26
The White Sox continue to
be one of baseball's top overachievers this season, in large part thanks
to MLB's best bullpen (1.94 ERA). Remarkably, the Sox have yet to lose a
game this season when leading after four innings (11-0), the only AL
club able to make that claim. Avisail Garcia
leads the AL in hitting (.368 average) despite a .252 average over the
previous two seasons. -- Paul Hembekides, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-15 Week 3 ranking: No. 25
Everyone knows that James Paxton is 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA, but the rest of the rotation is 5-10 with a 4.84 ERA. On the bright side, Nelson Cruz is heating up with five home runs and 14 RBIs in his past six games. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record: 12-12 Week 3 ranking:No. 10
The good news for the Tigers is that Miguel Cabrera
has been working out and taking BP as he recovers from a groin injury.
The bad news is they have a four-game set with the Indians starting
Monday, followed by a nine-game West Coast road trip. Their offense is
second in the league in runs scored per game, but their rotation's weak
first month has held them back. -- Michael Bonzagni, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 10-14 Week 3 ranking: No. 12
The Mets shook their way
out of a terrible funk with a hugely needed series win against the
Nationals but suffered what could be a huge injury with Noah Syndergaard's early departure on Sunday. The prospect of Syndergaard being out long term and replaced by Steven Matz or Seth Lugo
is grim for the Mets. Syndergaard has the sixth-highest WAR total in
MLB since the start of last season. Any prolonged absence probably
knocks three to four wins off the Mets' projected total. (Update: Syndergaard is out indefinitely with a partial lat tear). -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 14-13 Week 3 ranking:No. 23
Last week's five-game win streak helped boost the Angels, but can they keep it up? Mike Trout had another big week at the plate (1.300 OPS) and Albert Pujols
has provided help as the 37-year-old slugger inches closer to the top
10 on the all-time RBI list. On the flip side, the Angels continue to be
bitten by the injury bug, as both C.J. Cron and Tyler Skaggs landed on the DL. -- Paul Hembekides, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-12 Week 3 ranking:No. 13
The Marlins seemed
to be on the right track -- playing the Padres will do that for you --
but then lost four straight to the Phillies and Pirates. They play five
of their next seven on the road, at which point they will have played
just 11 games at Marlins Park and 19 elsewhere. For now, the goal should
be to keep within striking distance, but they need to get Justin Bour's bat going. Until Sunday's four-hit, six-RBI outburst, he hadn't ended a day in April with a batting average above .200. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-12 Week 3 ranking: No. 22
The Phillies had a nice
winning streak powered by good pitching, especially from a bullpen that
has continued to be stingy (Saturday night's implosion in L.A.
notwithstanding). Jeremy Hellickson has provided great stability as the veteran of the rotation. Offensively, Cesar Hernandez
is trying to secure his place in the team's future, ranking second
among NL second basemen in OPS. Before anyone gets carried away, the
Phillies have a tough test in their next 15 games, facing the Cubs,
Nats, Mariners and Rangers. -- John Fisher, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-13 Week 3 ranking:No. 21
The lineup helped the Buccos string together a few wins, thanks in part to Josh Harrison's becoming a top-of-the-order pest again, while Josh Bell has begun to find his power stroke. But the big story is still Ivan Nova
-- he's made 16 starts since joining the Pirates and logged five
complete games against just four walks. He has faced 396 batters since
joining the team and has not had a 3-0 count against any of them. Credit pitching coach Ray Searage for working his magic. -- John Fisher, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 12-11 Week 3 ranking:No. 20 Ervin Santana
enters May with an MLB-leading 0.77 ERA. This is just the third time
since earned runs became official in the AL in 1913 that a player for
the Twins franchise enters May with an ERA that low: Walter Johnson had a
0.24 ERA in 1913 entering May and then a 0.76 ERA in 1915 entering May.
Walter Johnson and Ervin Santana, together in franchise lore?
Definitely a first. -- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 9-17 Week 3 ranking: No. 27
While the Giants got the news that Madison Bumgarner
will be out until at least the All-Star break, starting pitching hasn't
been an issue over the past week: Since April 25, no Giants starter has
allowed more than three earned runs in a game. In that same span,
however, the Giants bullpen has allowed 19 earned runs, fourth-most in
the majors. Mark Melancon blew his second save of the year Sunday, allowing a game-tying 2-run homer to former Giant Hector Sanchez. -- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-14 Week 3 ranking: No. 17
The A's had a rough week in the standings, but there's still a lot to be excited about in Oakland. Led by Khris Davis,
their offense is in the top-10 in hard-hit percentage and homers so far
this year. Their pitching staff is the AL's youngest, and starters Andrew Triggs, Jesse Hahn and Kendall Graveman were great in the first month. The future might be brighter than anticipated for the A's, but the future likely isn't now. -- Michael Bonzagni, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-13 Week 3 ranking:No. 15
The
Reds are tied with the Mets for the worst record in MLB since April 13
(4-11) after their initially surprising 7-2 start, and the 7.51 ERA
they've gotten from their starting pitchers over that span deserves much
of the blame. Eight different pitchers have started a game for
Cincinnati this season (most in MLB), and that group has combined for
just eight quality starts. -- Paul Hembekides, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 8-17 Week 3 ranking:No. 30
The Blue Jays have
finally won two games in a row with wins Saturday and Sunday. Last year
they started the season off with consecutive wins. Kevin Pillar has been this team's offense: He leads Jays regulars in batting average, and he's tied for the team lead in home runs (with Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales). -- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 10-13 Week 3 ranking:No. 28
If
the Braves faced only the Mets, they would probably finish the season
with a winning record. They're 13-11 against New York over the past two
seasons and get the Mets for four more games in Atlanta this week. Julio Teheran
can't wait. He has a 0.91 ERA in his past seven starts against the
Mets, with a total of five runs allowed. Perhaps the Mets will be the
cure for Bartolo Colon, too -- his ERA has jumped to 5.59 with three recent shaky starts. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 11-16 Week 3 ranking:No. 29 Wil Myers
hit a three-run homer on Sunday in the 12th inning to give the Padres a
series victory over the Giants. He's hitting .310 with seven home runs
and is tied for sixth in the majors in extra-base hits. He's also fourth
with 34 strikeouts and has just two walks, giving him one of the
season's strangest batting lines. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com
Record: 7-16 Week 3 ranking: No. 24
The Royals' nine-game
losing streak has put them in a tailspin. They were outscored 54-22 in
those games, while their starting pitchers posted an AL-worst 6.98 ERA.
That last data point was an especially grim development: Before they hit
the road, Royals starters had led the majors in ERA. Every loss
increases the chances of the Royals being sellers at the trade deadline.
-- Michael Bonzagni, ESPN Stats & Information
